Mysterious 'Sea Monster' Carcass Washes Ashore on New Zealand Beach (Video)

Move over, Jaws. There's a new monster from the deep. A mysterious "sea monster" carcass washed ashore in New Zealand last week, puzzling the public and fueling speculation about the existence of dinosaurs and monsters, according to Fox News.

The corpse was actually discovered by a group on four-wheel vehicles that was speeding along the beach in Bay of Plenty. With its pointed teeth and distorted body, the carcass baffled the beach goers. Stretching over 30 feet long, the creature looked like something out of a monster movie rather than something you'd find while combing the beach.

In an attempt to try and identify the creature, the finders actually released a video on YouTube of the carcass. They pleaded with the public to tell them exactly what species the monster actually was. People speculated that it could be anything from a giant saltwater crocodile to a moray eel.

Yet this "sea monster" is far from being a prehistoric terror. Instead, a marine biologist was able to identify the carcass as a mostly-decayed orca whale. Its distinct flipper, in particular, is what gave it away.

Killer whales travel across the world's oceans, located across vast expanses--all the way from polar waters to the Equator. With sharp, cone-like teeth, these predators feast on marine mammals such as seals, sea lions and even whales. It's not surprising that with these attributes, the beach goers thought the orca was actually a sea monster.

This isn't the first time that a carcass has captured the imaginations of the public, though. Mostly-decayed corpses that have washed ashore look unlike any living creature in our oceans. Because of this, many speculate about the existence of sea monsters or even dinosaurs. For example, in 1896 a corpse was washed ashore on a beach in Florida. The six-foot-high blob was eventually found out to be a giant octopus, but not before imaginations ran wild.

In this case, it seems like the mystery is solved. No doubt there will be other mystery corpses in the future, though. Whether they're sea monsters or not, the public is likely to be fascinated by the strange carcasses.

Want to see the monster for yourself? Check out the video below, originally appearing here.